HE may not have won a medal but Townsville athlete Ashley Hollins gained a lot of positives out of his fifth-place finish in the javelin at the Australian Athletics Cup in Canberra at the weekend.

Nursing an elbow strain and entering a brand new season, Hollins threw 67.98m - just under three metres short of second place.

New Zealand champion Stuart Farquhar smashed all-comers with his 81.11m but Hollins was glad to stay within striking distance of  his Australian rivals.

''I struggled with the flight of the javelin but from second to fifth was very close so I'm not too worried about it at this stage,'' he said.

''It was my first competition back so it was good to get on top of it and it will be good to get another couple up my sleeve.

''The New Zealander who took it out is throwing really well and, other than that, from second to fifth there was only about three metres in it.

''None of those guys are out of my reach by any means - there's more in me.

''The conditions were ideal. The way they were I would have liked a better result, but hopefully in Hobart I can pull something bigger out.''

Hollins will compete in the Hobart Grand Prix on February 12 where he will line up against fellow Townsville product and Olympian Jarrod Bannister.

He will rest in the lead-up to that to get the elbow right and is confident of a strong showing.

''The elbow is pretty inflamed so I'll definitely get on that straight away, that's the first thing I'll deal with,'' he said.